Deeper Still by phil mccallum

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong Church sing “From the Inside Out” while reading about inner cleansing.

Scripture
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:5-7

Observation
I can’t scratch my own back or change my own heart. There are parts of me that I cannot reach. But the comfort is that Jesus can.

There are parts of myself that I don’t like. There is even more that the Lord sees that I do not. There is an inner part of my life that is hidden from my view and detached from my reach. I can’t do a thing about it.

But Jesus can. When David talked about hyssop he conjured up thoughts in Jewish minds of something like spring cleaning to us. Hyssop was a handy plant in their world, with fine hairs to soak up liquids like a paint brush. The people were used to their homes being cleansed by a priest with the stems of the plant. Blood and holy water changed their homes.

Application
The heart needs a spring clean, because there are parts of ourselves that we cannot reach. What a picture of a heart so pure that it makes us snow blind. No one can do that, except Jesus. He can change what I feel, what I desire, what I twist and corrupt. I’m changed from the inside out. But nothing will happen unless I ask for it first.

Prayer
Father, you want more out of my heart than I can currently give. You want to store wisdom there. But there is clutter of immaturity and sometimes rebellion. Just like I invite a surgeon to access hidden parts of my body, so I request that you will probe the obscure parts of my heart. Change my inner landscape so that I will be whiter than snow. Jesus do a spring clean in my life. Amen.

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Press the arrow to listen to the Keith Green classic, “Create a Clean Heart in Me” while reading today’s devotion.

Scripture
Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you. Psalm 51:1, 3, 4, 10-12

Observation
immediately after World War II, the ever energetic an engineering Germans rebuilt their pulverized nation back to factory specifications. One building, however, was left in ruins. The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin remained a bombed out rubble. Why? The people of Germany wanted a daily reminder of the futility of war, so the building was left in ruins. Next door a new church was built. Inside that church a cross was fashioned from the nails of another bombed cathedral, Coventry Cathedral in England destroyed by German bombers.

We like to erect memorials to glory days, but some of the best monuments are the ones we raise to commemorate our lowest moments. Psalm 51 is a still photo of David’s heart just after Nathan’s confrontation. His heart would go on and grow on. Like all hearts it would wander. But Psalm 51 was like an old vinyl LP with etched grooves that his heart could replay in years to come. Because he took time to carefully record his heart condition he could retune his heart back to that humbled moment.

Application
Today I’m ending a sabbath that has filled nearly an entire year. It has been 10 months of living off of what has grown of itself and diverting myself from my normal routine. Today I enter the on ramp of life and merge into the frenzy of human activity. Life will speed up, but I don’t want to forget the state of my heart in this time. What lessons do I want to take from this Sabbath Season into the next epoch of my working?

Live in and work out of that sacred space between the Father and the Son.
God never forgets a promise.
Patience should make me excited for it has rewards.
Hope is unreasonable, so linger in vulnerable places where miracles happen.
Work hard at being myself so I never have to remember how to act.
Prove that you trust God by resting.
Don’t expect new seasons to be a rerun of old seasons, be different to make a difference.

Early in this sabbath I wrote an entry that sums up my desires for the days ahead: I Want to Make This World a Better Place.

Prayer
Father, please strengthen me for the work that is before me. Let my life be an ice chest full of Gatorade to re-hydrate the weary where the water does not flow. Amen.

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Scripture
After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ Acts 13:22

Observation
How did God find out about David’s heart?

There was no resume that David sent to Samuel. There was no referee who put in a good word for him. Samuel didn’t point him out to the Lord. In fact, David’s father had pushed him out of sight by sending him to the back acres to care for sheep. His brother’s belittled him. David had no business card and took no time for networking. And yet he became King of Israel because God spotted him.

How did God find David and then find him useful?

God spotted David during his job interview. What interview you might wonder? David indeed had an interview to become king; it was called shepherding. While he was feeding sheep, fighting off lions and bears and singing psalms under the stars God was reviewing David’s file. Because David made the most of a dead end job God opened another door for him. What change can happen in life if we make the most of insignificant moments. Little do we realize that God is watching and because of our faithfulness in one difficult place the Lord opens the door for the next one.

David worked the way God works, that is why he was called a man after God’s own heart. He cared for sheep with passion just as the Lord does his own. He worshipped with gusto even without cds or mp3s. It is our attention to the trivial things of life that gains the attention of the Lord and gives us entrance into other things.

Had the Samuel advertised for a king in the newspaper his mail box would have been packed with resumes. Instead he listened to the Lord who had been watching when one one else was looking. What is invisible to others is in plain sight to the Lord and he can make the inconspicuous into the obvious just as easily.

Application
What matters most is our heart. We must throw our heart fully in what we are given to do. There can be no excuses that we would work harder if we had something better to do. We must work with heart. It is not enough to show up to work, we must throw ourselves into the job. God delights in passion when energy and emotion blend together to bring results; when love and labor intertwine and life changes for the better. What would happen if we treated every mundane moment like a job interview? Not only would we do our best but more importantly God will open doors for what he next has in store for us to do.

Prayer
Father, today I give you my heart by throwing it into that which you have given me to do. Amen.

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Scripture
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:18-19

Observation
It is popular to say, “I’m not under the law because I don’t live by the Old Testament but by the New!” But Jesus never said any such thing.

The preachers of his day focused all of their attention on protecting their reputation. They feared public shame lest they be seen to break one of the commandments. So they built little rules around the big commands of God so that they would not be in danger of breaking the biggees. For example, the law said not to work on the Sabbath. So the Pharisees made a rule against picking out lice from their hair on Saturday, because that would qualify as hunting which everyone knew was another form of work. There were many other “rule-ettes” just as clever.

Look at how Jesus handled the law. Every time in the Sermon on the Mount that mentioned a law he did not protect reputation, instead Jesus guarded his heart. So the law against murder became a look at resentment in the heart. The law against adultery became a look at lust in the heart.

Application
Here’s the lesson for me…for us: all of the Old Testament law is still standing to bring me to reflect how my heart attitude can be adjusted into something more useful to the Holy Spirit. What is out the window is using obedience to the law as a way to impress God. But the law still stands. It is up to me to go beyond the black and white of God’s rules and to use it like a color chart to spot the grays of my own heart.

Best of all, I admit I cannot change myself, but Jesus can. He is not searching for more commitment from me. What he wants is my surrender and Jesus will do the rest.

Prayer
Lord, here is my heart. Trying to reach it and change it is like scratching my back. I need help from another and you are the only one. Help me in pressured times when all eyes are on me not to become a neo-pharisee and to use the law as a mirror to improve my appearance. Instead, keep me looking at the internals not the externals. For what impresses me and others doesn’t interest you. Help me to remember how interested you are in what no one else can see but you. Amen.

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